"My name is E. I am 25 years old. I stand 5 feet and 7 inches,weighs 145 lbs. I have light complexion. I am a recovering drug addict and this is my diary."
You might think this is a typical introduction. You might think this would just be an ordinary book. But think again. I was recommending another book to a close friend that turned out was already out of stock. My friend was surprised to see this book and he said it was originally a blog. We found ourselves on the bookstore's floor reading it. It was not a thick book but I found myself already in to the book. It has a Parental Guidance on its cover for its explicit content. Even then, the book started lightly and I was even laughing on some part of it. He wrote his entry in such a way that even though it is really a serious situation you found yourself smiling with the way he inserted some sarcasm.
It chronicles the Life of E. A confessed drug addict. A bisexual who has mastered the art of using people for his personal gains. He grew up away from his family but I can say he was always supported especially on his studies. But he drop out of school and had vices.He learned to climb up the ladder to what he called Clans (group of some influential people who do drugs) so he can sustain his vices. Sex was also a vital part in it. But along his journey E also met people who had influenced him and made him feel weak and reminded him that he is only human.
Half-way through in reading the book I can say his evil I despised him or even loathe him in some things that he did to other people or even to himself. He disregard his self-worth and enter prostitution when he does not even need to be in that business. I was crashed when he pushed someone to his death, which did nothing but to love him unconditionally. But I was touched as he was able to find true friends along. I particularly loved the character of Cousin. He was E's closest friend. Cousin was a drug addict also but he learned to stop. Through it all, he was with E no matter what. He accepted E's misdemeanor, his craziness and he never fails to cry for E when the latter fail to do so for himself.
But all the fun has to stop and E’s life finally turn to a snap when he learned that he was HIV positive. He thought this was his karma, for all the wrongdoings and the lessons he neglected. I felt sorry for him in a way but he got my full admiration as he went on to be a survivor. Yes, reading how E lived his life maybe revolting or demoralizing for some but no one can blame him on the life he had chosen to live. My heart goes to him as I read along the parts when he tried to start again and right the wrongs that should have been right at the beginning. I was no longer laughing on his sarcasm; in fact I was close to tears. It was heartbreaking but E did not surrender. He knew where he went wrong and he knew his was not an ideal life to lead. His life is a great example for a lesson learned in a hard way when you have chosen to ignore it.
Indeed, life is everybody's choice. No one should take the blame. Whatever the life we chose to follow is a decision that we take. It is just a matter of how we put our best foot forward in every battle life has to give. It is a matter of stumbling and fumbling our way so we can eventually call ourselves survivors. In a way, I envy E for the life he lead, on the things that he was able to do and the fun that he chose to have. E has the courage of a man that some of us never had. His life does not know any regrets but only risks taken to make him the person he is now.
This book can change someone's outlook in life. It did change me. It gave me more meaning to a different life outside of me. It gave me a profound understanding of how life can indeed change us in a matter of seconds. It also gives knowledge about HIV. People have little information about it. I think they find HIV repulsive because they always associate it with sex and drugs. But HIV is just like any other disease just blown out of proportion that is why people often find HIV positive patients filthy or an outcast.
"My name is E. I am 26 years old. I stand 5 feet and 7 inches,weighs 145 lbs. I have light complexion. I am a recovering drug addict and this is my diary."
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